For Micah
by BlueMoonFan
Summary: Castle and Beckett find a very special friend for the son Micah... Written for CastleFanficMonday.


Walking into the animal shelter that early January morning, Castle and Beckett were having a very animated discussion. Neither of them could agree on the kind of dog that they wanted to get for their son.

Micah was three and was recently diagnosed with autism. They had been attending a support group and had picked up some brochures about therapy dogs for children. Castle was hopeful, but Beckett was doubtful that this was the right course of action for their family. So, they set up an appointment to talk to the directors of the center.

They had brought Micah with them. Leaving their eight month old twin girls at home with Alexis. Because even if they picked out the right dog for them, Micah had to be comfortable with the decision. If he didn't respond well to the dogs, well, then all bets were off. They would have to find another way to manage his stressful reactions to situations and to different people.

The Castle household had been in a constant state of chaos since Micah was born. At first they thought that it was just him being a boy and being mischievous. His pediatrician had assured them that his behavior was normal. Shortly before Christmas he stopped talking and would sit in a corner and rock back and forth.

Whenever they tried to pull him away, he would scream uncontrollably and nothing would pull him out of it. Then, Kate and Micah went shopping one Sunday morning and Micah wondered off. It took them almost three hours to find him. He was sitting under a coat rack rocking back and forth. When they mentioned it in their support group, they got the name of the canine training center. They were meeting with the director and if everything went okay, they would pick out their dog.

After over three hours of interviews, the director finally told them that they would be able to pick out a dog. She did tell him that Micah should be involved in the process. Since it would primarily be his dog. Yes, it would be a family dog, but if Micah didn't bond with the dog from the start, they it would all be for nothing.

So, that is how the Castle family found themselves that the shelter early one cold January morning. Micah led the way followed by Beckett and the Castle.

Their son walked up and down the different aisles in the shelter. Not taking a particular interest in any of the dogs. At least not until they came to the final cage in the shelter. That was when Micah dropped to his knees and Kate prepared for him to start crying and screaming. However, that wasn't what happened.

Micah had turned his head to the side and seemed to be studying the dog inside the kennel. He pushed his tiny hand through the bars and into the cage. Even though he hadn't made a sound to call the dog over to him, the tan and white dog inside the cage walked over to him slowly. When Micah's hand touched the soft fur of the dog, the dog's tail started wagging happily. Then, he licked Micah's hand and their normally reserved and quiet son looked back at his parents and the brightest smile was on his face. It was a smile that they hadn't seen in quite some time. Then, Micah turned back to the dog and they heard him talking softly to the dog in the cage. Something that he hadn't done in in a long time. That was when they knew that this was the dog for them. For Micah.

Castle smiled and said, "This is the one."

Beckett nodded and agreed, "It is. I haven't seen Micah this happy in a long, long time."

The shelter director looked at them and asked, "Are you sure this is the dog that you want?"

Looking back at him, Beckett asked, "Why? Is there something wrong with him? Something that we should be aware of?"

Shaking his head, the director told them, "Well, he's a pit bull and…."

Castle asked, "And?"

"And most people don't want the risk associated with them and…"

Hearing their son giggle as the dog moved closer to the bars in the cage and licked him more. Castle shook his head and told the director, "No. We haven't heard that noise in the longest time. We want that dog." Leaning forward to see the name, Castle smiled and continued, "We want Jack."

Hearing their son giggle once more, Kate knew that this dog was possibly the best thing to happen to their son in a long time. Little did they know it then, but he would be the key to unlocking their son's once bleak world.

To see the dog that inspired this fic, visit my tumblr: bluemoonfan8 "dot" tum blr "dot" com slash post slash 132424029420 slash picture-for-my-castlefanficmonday-fic


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